SportsTalk» college baseball

SportsTalk Rewind 1.26.11: USC Pitching Coach Jerry Meyers (AUDIO)

Graham Pope — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:52:13 +0000

Jerry Meyers

Baseball season is less than a month away, and as the state’s biggest sports outlet, we’ve decided it’s time to slowly integrate the hard ball back into the show. Earlier in the week the guys from “SportsTalk First Edition,” Kevin McCrarey and the Wild Man, Bill Gunter, took some time to talk with USC Pitching Coach, Jerry Meyers, about his arms, and the upcoming season.

Practice for the USC baseball team starts tomorrow. The two-time defending National Champions will open up their title defense February 17 against VMI in Columbia.

AUDIO: Jerry Meyers

Chad Holbrook visits SportsTalk

Phil Kornblut — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:28:05 +0000

Story by Rixon Lane:

USC assistant coach Chad Holbrook stopped by SportsTalk First Edition today to talk about the upcoming Gamecock baseball season and the 2012 recruiting class.

AUDIO: Chad Holbrook

Holbrook was named the 2011 ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year. He has been tabbed as one of the top recruiters in all of college sports by ESPN The Magazine.

The Gamecocks are looking defend their back-to-back national championships on the diamond. South Carolina’s season starts on February 17th.

Carolina put together a recruiting class in 2011 that was received the top ranking by Collegiate Baseball and was tabbed as the 6th-ranked class by Baseball America.

USC currently has 17 commitments in the class of 2012:

DC Arendas (INF, 6-0, 175, Greensboro, NC)

Curt Britt (RHP/1B, 6-3, 205, Rockingham, NC)

Jamie Callahan (P/3B, 6-3, 180, Dillon)

Brandon Hester (RHP, 6-6, 205, Stratford)

George Iskenderian (SS, 6-2, 190, Ramsay, NJ)

Tyler Jackson (RHP, 6-4, 180, Wren)

Jamie Jarmon (OF, 6-3, 205, Millsboro, NJ)

Austin Labounty (3B/1B, 6-1, 185, Gilbert)

Kris Nelson (RHP, 6-1, 180, Florence-Darlington Tech)

Weber Pike (3B, 6-0, 185, Beaufort)

Hunter Rice (RHP, 5-8, 160, Spartanburg Methodist JC)

Ryan Ripken (1B, 6-1, 185, Baltimore)

Max Schrock (2B, 5-10, 180, Chapel Hill, NC)

Corey Seagar (SS, 6-3, 175, Kannapolis, NC)

Zack Smith (1B, 6-0, 200, USC Sumter)

Jack Wasilewski (LHP, 6-2, 200, Tazewell, VA)

Jack Wynkoop (LHP, 6-4, 185, Virginia Beach, VA)

Clemson Baseball Coach Jack Leggett Reviews Fall Practice (AUDIO)

Graham Pope — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 01:23:22 +0000

Wednesday was the first day of the baseball signing period for the 2011-2012 class. So we decided to dial up Clemson Head Baseball Coach, Jack Leggett, to gets his thoughts on his newcomers, review the Tigers fall practice, and get a very very premature look at the upcoming season. Besides, it will be here before you know it.

AUDIO: Jack Leggett

USC baseball team picks up two ESPNU games

Kevin McCrarey — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:10:40 +0000

Matt Price will be in USC's starting rotation this year

USC will twice be a part of ESPNU’S Thursday Night SEC Baseball Game of the Week, as announced by the league office and ESPN on Monday afternoon. The rematch of the 2011 National Championship Series at the College World Series between South Carolina and Florida will open the league package on Thursday, Mar. 22 from Carolina Stadium. In addition, the series opener between the Gamecocks and Alabama at Carolina Stadium will also be broadcast on Thursday, April 26.

2012 SEC / ESPNU THURSDAY NIGHT BASEBALL SCHEDULE

March 22 Florida at South Carolina
April 5 LSU at Florida
April 12 Ole Miss at Georgia
April 19 Tennessee at Mississippi State
April 26 Alabama at South Carolina
May 3 Florida at Kentucky
May 10 Auburn at Arkansas
May 17 Ole Miss at Vanderbilt

SEC baseball series are played with single games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For series involved in this package, the first game will be played on Thursday with games on Friday and Saturday. This will involve just one series per week. During the final weekend of the season, all games are Thursday through Saturday.

Additional SEC baseball games will be aired on the ESPN family of networks as well as other networks and will be announced at a later date. No other games will be moved to Thursday other than the games listed below.

South Carolina’s complete 2012 schedule will be announced on a later date.

The Citadel releases 2012 baseball schedule

Phil Kornblut — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:12:36 +0000

Head Coach Fred Jordan and The Citadel Baseball program released their schedule for the 2012 season on Tuesday. The Bulldogs play host to a four-team tournament to open the season and remain in Charleston for the first four weeks of the season, while hosting 33 total games at Riley Park.

“We have a very demanding schedule coming in 2012 with great competition coming early in the season at home,” said Jordan. “Our league schedule will once again be a true battle each and every weekend. We are excited to see a much more balanced schedule that alternates home and away conference series each week after being on the road late much of last season.”

Highlighting the 2012 slate is a three-game series at Minnesota, out of the Big Ten, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn., from March 23-25. The Gophers and Bulldogs have only met on one previous occasion back in 2007 when Minnesota won a 6-3 decision in the Homewood Suites Shootout at Riley Park.

The season-opening tournament will feature Richmond, Liberty and Towson making their way south to Riley Park on Feb. 17-19. The Bulldogs have not faced the Spiders or Flames since 2007, also in Charleston. The Tigers will be making their way to Riley Park for the second consecutive season.

For the second time in three seasons, Delaware will come to Charleston to face the Bulldogs in a four-game set in the second weekend of the season. Columbia then makes their way down for a four-game series in the first weekend of March. It is the first trip back to Riley Park for the Lions since 2007.

The Southern Conference slate begins March 9-11 when The Citadel hosts Western Carolina at Riley Park before heading to Boone, N.C., for the first time since 2009 to face Appalachian State on March 16-18.

Midweek contests featuring USC Upstate, Winthrop, Charleston Southern and Coastal Carolina will once again appear on the schedule in 2012. The Citadel will face each of those squads once at Riley Park and once on the road.

After making their way to Minnesota in third week of March, The Citadel welcomes South Carolina, the two-time defending national champions, to Riley Park on March 27 and heads to Columbia on April 10 to face the Gamecocks.

Rounding out March, the Bulldogs host Wofford on March 30-April 1 and then head to Birmingham, Ala., to face Samford in the first weekend of April. UNC Greensboro comes to Riley Park on April 13-15, while the Bulldogs head across town to face rival College of Charleston on April 20-22 at Patriots Point.

Georgia Southern, the defending SoCon Tournament Champions, come to Riley Park on April 27-29 before the Bulldogs face North Florida for a pair of midweek games. It will be the first meeting between the two schools since 1995.

The Citadel travels to Davidson to face the Wildcats in the opening weekend of May as the series will be played on Friday and a doubleheader on Sunday with the senior Bulldogs returning to Charleston that Saturday for graduation. The Bulldogs then host Furman at Riley Park in their final home series of the season on May 11-13. The 56-game slate concludes with a trip to Elon to face the Phoenix on May 17-19.

The 2012 Southern Conference Tournament will shift to Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., the site for the next two years, while keeping the same format with the top eight seeds qualifying for the event. The tournament will begin on Wednesday, May 23 with the championship game on Sunday, May 27.

USC, Clemson set neutral sites for baseball games

Phil Kornblut — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Tanner (L) & Leggett set neutral site games

South Carolina and Clemson have announced the schedule for their annual neutral site baseball game that will include non-conference tilts in Charleston and Greenville the next two seasons. The Gamecocks and Tigers will meet in 2012 at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park, home of the Charleston RiverDogs with the 2013 game returning to Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., home of the Greenville Drive.

“The Charleston RiverDogs are excited to help bring the Clemson-South Carolina baseball series to the Lowcountry, and we thank both schools’ coaches and administrators for making this happen,” said RiverDogs General Manager Dave Echols. “The game in the Lowcountry, a region that loves baseball and is known for hospitality, is something that all Carolina and Clemson fans have wanted for a very long time, and we’re thrilled to be involved with it. We hope to make this a longstanding relationship.”

2012 is the third season of the three-game format (home-away-neutral) with both teams having won three games apiece in the regular season. The neutral site games in 2010 and 2011 were played at Fluor Field to capacity crowds of 7,105, and 7,125 the last two years.

“Greenville has a passion to host this game as proven by the overflow crowds, excitement in the ballpark and the reaction from the alumni who attend this event,” said Greenville Drive General Manager, Mike DeMaine. “It is part of our sports landscape and the entire City of Greenville rallies behind this event. Our organization is committed to the long term success of this event in partnership with the schools.”

“We are ecstatic to showcase the Carolina-Clemson rivalry across the great state of South Carolina” said Ray Tanner, South Carolina head baseball coach. “Charleston is a great baseball city with great Gamecock fans and we look forward to a tremendous crowd at Joe Riley Park there for the first game of our series as well as continuing our partnership with Greenville in 2013. The atmosphere has been outstanding at Fluor Field and we appreciate their involvement in the series. ”

For the 2012 game, Gamecock Club and IPTAY Club donors for South Carolina and Clemson as well as RiverDog season ticket holders will have the opportunity to purchase tickets for the Friday night game. Any remaining tickets will be released for sale to the general public. Ticket sale dates and prices will be announced at a later date.

“We are excited about taking our rivalry to the Lowcountry,” said Jack Leggett, Clemson head baseball coach. “We have a large fanbase in the Charleston area that doesn’t get to see us on a regular basis. Riley Park will be a tremendous environment for our players and fans. It will be a great place to take our series for the 2012 season. We are also excited to have the rivalry game return to Fluor Field in 2013. The hospitality and support by the staff in Greenville are first-class in every way.”

The 2012 game in Charleston is set for Friday March 2 with the three-game series shifting to Columbia on Saturday and the conclusion of the three-game set on Sunday at Clemson. Game times will be announced on a later date. The dates and times for the 2013 series including the game in Greenville will also be announced on a later date.

Carson’s Father Lays Out Recovery Blueprint (AUDIO)

Graham Pope — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:26:19 +0000

Tonight we welcomed in Greg Carson, father of USC Freshmen Running Back, Shon Carson. Shon was injured in Carolina’s SEC opener against Georgia Saturday, tearing his ACL, after being tackled in his first carry. Shon was also a heavily sought after prep baseball player, and was expected to walk on to the baseball team at USC. His father laid out his plans for recovery, his baseball plans, and where Shon is headed from here.

AUDIO: Greg Carson

USC outscores Georgia 45-42 in Athens (AUDIO)

Phil Kornblut — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 02:06:29 +0000

Steve Spurrier watched his Gamecocks win a wild one Saturday in Athens

USC won the highest scoring game in the history of the Georgia series Saturday at Sanford Stadium 45-42. The 45 points are the most the Gamecocks ever have scored in the series. And it’s the Gamecocks’ second straight win over the Bulldogs, the first time they have won back to back in the series since 2000 and 2001.

AUDIO: Steve Spurrier

The Gamecocks are 2-0 for the third time under Steve Spurrier who is now second all time on the USC win list with 46. They are 1-0 in the SEC. They will play their home opener next Saturday against Navy at 6:00 PM to open a four game homestand.

Highlights of Dabo Swinney Sunday conference call

Phil Kornblut — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 22:37:06 +0000

Dwayne Allen breaks free for the Tigers' go ahead touchdown against Troy

Most proud of how team handled adversity and the disciplined it played with. No defensive penalties.
Credits his coaching staff…played 24 freshman…pleased it was a better opener than last year.
Only questionable injury is Rashard Hall…won’t know for sure until he is checked out Monday.
Thought defensively they got better as they went…six three and outs…did a good job against the run.
Thought Boyd played well after slow start…was named player of the game.
Said Boyd showed good composure in the second half. They did simple things he didn’t do a good job with in firt half but settled down.
Thought the offensive line did okay…three sacks, but two on quarterback. Disapointed they didn’t score on fourth and inches.
Phillip Price did a good job, was the offensive lineman of the week. The first five offensive linemen all graded out a winner.

Two Tigers make Cape Cod All-Star team

Kevin McCrarey — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:48:19 +0000

Scott FirthRichie Shaffer

Clemson juniors Scott Firth and Richie Shaffer were both named to the Cape Cod League All-Star team, announced last week by Commissioner Paul Galop. Clemson joined Stony Brook as the only two schools to place multiple members on the 25-man team.

Firth, a righthander from Buffalo Grove, IL, was 3-1 with a 1.88 ERA and .218 opponents’ batting average in 43.1 innings pitched over nine starts with Hyannis. He allowed just 32 hits with 33 strikeouts and pitched in the Cape Cod League All-Star game on July 29.

Shaffer, an infielder from Charlotte, NC, hit .263 with 21 runs, 11 doubles, two triples, six homers, 22 RBIs, and 16 walks in 36 games with Chatham. He also hit for the cycle in Chatham’s 10-4 win over Cotuit on June 17 and won the home run derby at Fenway Park prior to the Cape Cod League All-Star game on July 29.

**INFO FROM CLEMSON SID**